At this time, there aren’t many reliable details on why Goodwill spiralled so quickly out of control. But a few things are immediately obvious, even at this early stage. Creative Trust included planning as one of the key characteristics of strong and healthy arts organizations. “Organizations that plan and learn are able to respond, adjust and take advantage of changing realities” we said in our Year 3 Evaluation Report. “Each Creative Trust company details its commitment to take specific steps towards health and sustainability in a written Work Plan.” Analyzing and balancing risk, ensuring that each organization understood the financial, human and other resources needed to fulfill their mandates, and planning for expected and unexpected financial difficulties were all part of our program.

Where was the planning at Goodwill?

Cash flow shortfalls are common; they turn into cash flow crises when no one analyzes whether/when expenses will exceed revenues and there’s no plan to close the gap and minimize disruption.

Non-profits need to stay on top of changes in their environment, planning ways to respond and adjust in order to stay strong and sustainable. If the competition among vintage and used clothing stores in the GTA is growing, what’s the plan? If sales per square feet aren’t keeping up with rental costs, what’s the plan?

The worst response to an organizational crisis is silence or looking like you don’t know what to say. A communications professional could have come up with a plan to respond honestly and openly to Goodwill Toronto’s public relations debacle. They accept public funding for their programs; they owe an explanation and an apology to the public.

You’ll notice that my baffled outrage doesn’t include questioning the CEO’s approximately $200 – 250,000 a year salary. Here’s where the critics have it wrong. This seems like appropriate, even modest, compensation for someone managing a $28 million a year organization…as long as their skills are up to the job.

By the way, while it’s a drastic error to stumble into a crisis without any plans in place, planning is also essential when the good times roll around. Any major change to an organization’s environment or business model requires thoughtful and detailed planning – in writing – or it won’t go well.